Best Father’s Day tech gifts 2018

Father’s Day is just around the corner, on June 18 in case you were wondering, and that leaves you with just about enough time to find the perfect gift. A nice tie, a classy pair of cufflinks, or that great bottle of aged whiskey remain evergreen choices as Father’s Day gifts. But for the Dad that loves all things tech, there are a lot of fantastic options out there as well.

Here is our roundup of the best Father’s Day tech gifts 2018!

A smartphone

Huawei P20 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus

More often than not, the smartphone that your Dad uses is in dire need of an upgrade. You’ve probably helped him choose and set up a device before, so you shouldn’t have any trouble figuring out what the best smartphone to get him for Father’s Day is. Our top picks include –

Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus – Its predecessor was all about design, the display, photography, and performance, and the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus manages to do all of that better. The Galaxy S9 Plus has a few advantages over its smaller sibling, the Galaxy S9, as well. It obviously has a larger display, comes with more RAM, and features an excellent dual rear camera setup. However, given that it is the cheaper of the two, the Galaxy S9 remains a great option as well. The Galaxy S9 Plus is currently priced at around $820.

LG G7 ThinQ – LG has another winner on its hands with the G7 ThinQ. You get an excellent design and build quality that keeps the phone safe from accidental bumps and drops and the elements. LG manages to impress with a single bottom-firing speaker and the audio quality when using headphones is unparalleled. The cameras are fantastic as well and packed with features that provide DSLR-like control. The LG G7 ThinQ is priced at around $750.

Huawei P20 Pro – The Huawei P20 Pro is one of the best smartphones you can get your hands on right now. You get a beautiful design with one of the more unique color options around, excellent features, impressive battery life, and flagship specifications. The highlight though is the triple rear camera setup that features a 40MP sensor that proves to be as amazing as Huawei claims. If smartphone photography is a focus, the P20 Pro is a great choice. The Huawei P20 Pro is currently priced at around $900.

Of course, you don’t have to spend close to a $1000 on a smartphone. There are still some great high-end devices available, that may not have all the bells and whistles as those listed above, but are significantly more affordable.

OnePlus 6 – OnePlus remains a fan favorite, courtesy of its penchant for offering a lot of bang for your buck. The OnePlus 6 is no different, featuring the latest and greatest in specifications, a premium design, and an excellent software experience, all for a price point that starts at $529.

Honor View 10 – The Honor View 10 is another excellent option at around the $500 mark that offers flagship specifications and features. There are quite a few camera and software features that utilize AI to enhance their usage, the sound experience is impressive, and the dual rear camera setup certainly gets the job done. It is truly amazing that such a feature-packed device is priced at just $499.

There are even more budget-friendly options to be found. These devices may not be as powerful or as packed with features as those listed above. But they certainly will get the job done and are excellent gifts for Father’s Day.

Honor 7X – With a price point of $200, the Honor 7X is significantly cheaper than current generation flagships. However, the difference in terms of quality and performance isn’t nearly as big. Mid-range hardware offers good performance, the phone comes with excellent battery life, and the design feels a lot more premium than what its price point suggests. As far as affordable smartphones go, the Honor 7X is a great option.

Moto G6 – There’s good reason why the Moto G series has proven to Motorola’s most popular smartphone series in the world, with its perfect mix of specifications, features, and price. This remains the case with the latest addition to the series – the Moto G6. The Moto G6 introduces significant upgrades when compared to its predecessor, including more RAM, a faster processor, more storage, an improved camera experience with the new dual rear camera setup, and a whole lot more. All for the price of just $249.99.

A media streaming device

Chromecast Ultra

Even if your Dad doesn’t have a smart TV, his access to online content shouldn’t be limited to the small screens of laptops or smartphones. That’s where a good media streaming device can make all the difference, giving you the ability to convert any TV into a smart one at a pretty affordable price. Our top choices for a gift this Father’s Day include –

NVIDIA Shield TV – The NVIDIA Shield TV basically falls somewhere between a media streaming device and a gaming console in functionality, making it stand out from the rest of the devices on this list in many ways. It also supports a ton of apps and services, making it a flexible choice that also has Google Cast support and Android TV baked right in. The added features come at a price though, with the NVIDIA Shield priced at $199.99.

Roku Streaming Stick+ – The Roku Streaming Stick+is the best choice for those looking for tons of apps (or Channels as Roku calls them), wide support, and a platform that is often the very first to get new services and features. There’s also the Roku Ultra for those that want a bit more oomph, or the Roku Streaming Stick for those that don’t need 4K and a few other fancy features. The Roku Streaming Stick+ is currently priced at just $55.

Google Chromecast – Google takes a different approach to the media streaming devices game. The Chromecast family ditches the remote and turns your TV into an extension of your other devices. It’s fairly simple to setup and is a great no-fuss way to stream your content from phones, tablets, and PC. The Chromecast is the best choice for those that want a cheap, no-frills option. The regular Chromecast is $35, and the 4K model is priced at $70.

For a more in-depth review of these media streaming devices and detailed comparisons between various other choices, don’t forget to check out our best media streaming devices guide over at our sister site – DGiT.

Smart Speakers

Google Home

Even if your dad isn’t much of a techie, a smart speaker will make an enthusiast out of anyone. The ability to listen to music, get cooking help, look up questions, listen to the news, integrate other smart home products, and all the hundreds of other extras possible with a smart assistant, gives you a device that won’t fail to impress.

Google Home: Powered by Google Assistant, Google Home is a connected speaker that helps make your day that much easier by allowing you to keep track of your schedule and the weather, listen to music, control smart devices, and everything else Google Assistant is capable of. Google Home is currently available for a discounted price of $99 for Father’s Day. If you’re okay without the speaker quality of the Google Home, you can get all the same features for as low as $39 (Father’s Day deal) with the Google Home Mini. On the flip side, if audio is a huge factor, you can opt for the Google Home Max, currently priced at $399.

Amazon Echo: Amazon is the one that started it all with the Echo, which remains a great option when it comes to smart connected speakers. Powered by Alexa, you can listen to all your music, and it is able to answer your questions, keep track of the weather, read the news and audiobooks, control other smart devices, and a whole lot more. Amazon has dropped the price of the Echo and Echo Dot for Father’s Day, with the devices available for $79.99 and $39.99 respectively.

Audio products

JBL Charge 3

Great Father’s Day gifts for those dads that love music are audio products like Bluetooth speakers, headphones, or earphones. With different high-quality options available that you can choose between based on your budget, here our choices for Bluetooth speakers –

Marshall Stanmore Multi-room – Marshall might be known for their legendary amps, but they’re quickly making a name for themselves in consumer audio. After a few years of making speakers, Marshall has finally nailed almost everything with the Stanmore Multi-room speaker. It may be large and needs to be plugged in, so while it isn’t the most portable, it certainly is one of the best sounding speakers around. That quality comes at a price though, with the Stanmore Multi-room priced at $450.

JBL Charge 3 – For all your outdoor needs, the best all-around speaker you want by your side should be the JBL Charge 3. You get a completely waterproof IPX7 fabric covering the speaker to keep it protected. 20 hours of battery life is available, and you can also use it as a portable battery pack to charge other devices. If the primary listening environment is going to be large rooms or outdoors by the pool or when camping, the JBL Charge 3 is the way to go. The JBL Charge 3 is currently priced at around $120.

JBL Clip 2 – The JBL Clip 2 is one of the best cheap Bluetooth speakers you can get. You’ll find a fabric covering around the speaker that gives it an IPX7 rating and a much better look and feel. You can get around 8 hours of battery life with the speaker and the sound quality is also good enough for a hike, picnic, or even for the shower. The JBL Clip 2 is priced at around $45.

Not everyone is looking to blast music from a Bluetooth speaker all the time, so a good pair of headphones will do the trick instead. Here are our top picks:

Sony WH-1000X M2 – The Sony WH-1000X M2 not only boast impressive active noise cancelling, but it offers the best sound quality out there for ANC wireless headsets. They’re comfortable, have decent battery life, offer an insanely well-featured app that lets you tailor the sound to exactly how you like it, and sound fantastic for Bluetooth headphone. These headphones are unsurprisingly pricey but are well worth the $335 price tag.

CB3 Audio Hush: A good pair of headphones with active noise-cancelling can be difficult to find on a budget, but CB3 Audio is at the fore in this regard with the Hush. There are a lot of features packed into a modern design, with impressive sound quality available, not only for the price, but in general. Which is why it’s great that this excellent pair of headphones is priced at just $90.

A large pair of headphones isn’t the most comfortable to have on your head and around your ears all the time, and a good pair of earbuds may prove to be a better way to go. Here are our top choices:

1MORE Quad Drivers in-ears – As the name suggests, these earphones offer four different drivers in each earbud, each tuned specifically to handle a different frequency range. This means there’s less overlap between different sounds, as there isn’t just a single driver trying to do everything at once. Both the sound and build quality are excellent. While these earphones aren’t cheap, with a price tag of around $140, they are certainly worth it.

Sennheiser HD-1 – With smartphones companies seemingly decided on removing the headphone jack from their devices regardless of whether consumers want it or not, a good pair of Bluetooth earphones are becoming a must. The HD-1 supports aptX and AAC codecs and promises an impressive battery life of 10 hours with constant playback. If you’re looking for a great all-round pair of Bluetooth earphones, the HD-1 is a great option. The Sennheiser HD-1 is priced at around $170.

Smartwatches and fitness trackers

Garmin Vivosport

Fitness trackers are often a necessity for fitness enthusiasts and have come a long way in a few years as far as their capabilities and features are concerned. If you are looking for a fitness tracker as a Father’s Day gift, here are our top picks –

Garmin Vivosport – The best fitness tracker on the market is the Garmin vivosport. This new device packs a GPS and a heart rate monitor, which is pretty incredible considering its slim and lightweight design. It’s also waterproof up to 50 meters, will last up to seven days on a single charge, and comes with a Chroma touchscreen display that’s miles better than the display on thevivosmart 3. The vivosport is available now for around $165.

Nokia Steel HR – If you’re looking for an analog watch that doesn’t skimp on the fitness features, you should definitely check out the Nokia Steel HR (formerly Withings Steel HR). It’s accurate, affordable, comfortable,, and downright gorgeous. It also sports a digital display that offers a unique take on bringing a digital screen to a traditional analog watch design. Like most other stylish fitness trackers, it’s not the most feature-packed. But for anyone looking for a fitness tracker that doesn’t look like one, the Steel HR is a great choice. The Nokia Steel HR is also priced at around $165.

While some smartwatches have some fitness tracking capabilities as well, the biggest advantage of using a smartwatch is that you won’t have to reach for your phone nearly as often as you did before. Smartwatches are a long way from being considered must-haves but are certainly pretty useful once you get one.

LG Watch Sport – The LG Watch Sport has been around for a while, but it remains one of the best Android Wear watches around. The Watch Sport offers everything you’d want from a smartwatch — a big AMOLED display, built-in GPS, an optical heart rate monitor, LTE connectivity, an IP68 water resistance rating, as well as support for Google Pay. It is a bit pricey at around $240 but is well worth it.

TicWatch E – If you aren’t keen on spending a few hundred bucks on an Android Wear watch, you should consider the Ticwatch E. For just $159, you’re getting a solid, feature-packed smartwatch with plenty of extras — a built-in GPS, heart rate sensor, and IP67 water and dust resistance. It’s also one of the prettier Wear OS out there, too. It’s not the most elegant, but its understated, minimalistic design is what is actually pretty great about this device.

Miscellaneous

Phone cases

There are some gifts that are more practical than fancy, and while a shiny new smartphone is bound to turn heads on Father’s Day, the options in the list below serve to address a more pragmatic need. These Father’s Day gifts may not be the most extravagant, but anything that helps solve a problem is definitely going to be cherished for years to come.

Car accessories: From Bluetooth car kits, dashboard replacements with Android Auto support, to car chargers and phone holders, there is a lot you can do to make your dad’s driving experience more enjoyable and importantly, hands-free. To find something that best suits your dad, here is our roundup of best car accessories, that cover the range of any tech that can go into your car.

Portable battery packs: If your dad has been facing issues with his phone battery running out halfway through the day, a portable battery pack is a great gift option. You can find our roundup of the best portable battery packs currently available here, and in case he has a newer phone that features a USB-C port, you can find a list of relevant portable chargers here.

Phone cases: A good phone case can go a long way in keeping your smartphone safe from unfortunate and accidental bumps and drops, and an additional layer of security is never a bad idea. From slim, transparent cases that show off the design of your phone, to the ultra-rugged options that will keep your device safe from anything, every type is available in our best cases roundups for a variety of smartphones. You can search for your particular device on the site, or look for the phone here.

Media streaming subscriptions – What would be a really nice gift could be to cover the cost of or sign him for media streaming apps that he may not already have access to like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Audible, Spotify, and a whole lot more. This gifts also pairs nicely with a media streaming device like the NVIDIA Shield TV or Google Chromecast.

Smart home kits – Setting up a smart home can be a very interesting DIY project for you dad, and you can help him get started with a variety of smart home kits that you gift him on Father’s Day. There are a lot of great options that are available that we’ve covered extensively on our sister site – DGiT that you should definitely check out.&

So there you have it for this roundup of some great tech gifts for Father’s Day 2018!

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